The Land of Fantala: The Brio Stone

Hypatios, king of Fantala, and his brave companion, a fox named Adrastus, are on a hunting journey when they find a secluded, magical glen. A magical prophecy is revealed: the staff Luminaga must be reunited with all three of its jewels to overcome the evil advancing upon the land. They set out on this perilous quest, but many others are looking for the powerful gems as well. Duilius, a poor, angry youth, seeks to harness the power of the stones to show the world that he is strong; Kerberys is another who seeks the power, to obliterate the world as we know it.

I feel that the writing in this story needs to be a bit more refined. Some sentences read a bit awkward, the paragraphs unfocused, and characters over-powered. However, the characters had decent motives and a few interesting complexities; Elythyia, for example, had to choose between helping her friend and helping the king; Duilius had a complex background that helped explain his motives as well. I loved how this made the characters seem more real and believable, as well as more sympathetic. With that said, the book blended in a bit too much with the multitude of others on the market today, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad story. The story was engaging during the reading of it, and I was curious to see what would happen to the characters. This book is akin to a fantasy Chicken Soup for the Soul – an easy and fun read – a good way to spend an afternoon.